The Yukon Arctic Ultra 2026 started as planned on February 1st in Teslin. We had a slight delay but it was great to finally see everyone on their way.
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We knew it would be a tough beginning because of recent snowfalls and the very warm temperatures. For the athletes it’s of course one thing to hear about a soft trail and then actually experiencing it. Athletes on foot had to use snowshoes pretty much all the time and our fatbikers – often the faster of our three categories – suffered. Unfortunately, no skiers this year. They would have coped well with the conditions this year!
Copyright: markkellyphoto.com
In the meantime, the athletes in our new 235km race also started their race but they “skipped” Teslin Lake and started right from the beginning of the South Canol Road.
All athletes in the 350 and 645km distances reached Brooks Brook, our first checkpoint. It was a long day and night with many arrivals after midnight and one participant, Jeff Bond, arriving at 08:00am on Feb. 2nd, after taking a longer rest on Teslin Lake.
Not all did continue. Stefan Zahlten (645km/Foot/Germany) and Patrick Sumi (345km/Foot/Switzerland) decided not to continue. For Stefan who is a very seasoned winter ultra athlete and YAU veteran it just was not his year and Patrick felt sick and out of energy.
Copyright: Callum Jolliffe
On the South Canol Road, things became even more challenging. While the trails have been slightly firmer, temperatures of around – 5° to 0° Celsius meant that the trails still stayed soft. On top of that, we got fresh snow. AND elevation …
Birgit Langmann, an experienced fatbiker from Alaska, decided to turn around and scratch shortly after heading out. Everyone else gave it a go.
Copyright: Callum Jolliffe
Alsmost all remaining athletes made it to our next checkpoint, Evelyn Creek. But, again, not all continued from here on. Just Jeff Bond (345km/Foot/Canada), a finisher of our former 100mile race to Braeburn, asked to be picked up from the trail and came back to Brooks Brook. He was just not making the progress he needed to.
Thierry Corbarieu (645km/Foot/France) who is a winner of our 430mile race to Dawson City and generally unstoppable, had stomach problems and withdrew. Maximimo Martin Escribano (350km/Foot/Spain), also race veteran, hurt his knee. Seasoned ultra athlete Mark Caldwell (345km/Foot/Scotland). Sébastien Mosconi (645km/Foot/France) had a similar problem to Thierry. Stomach problems and consequently no energy. So, he had to quit. Brian Bell (235km/Foot/Ireland) knew it may get difficult because he had hurt his back. Which is why he had changed from the 345 to the 235km pre-race. But it did not work out and his back went from bad to worse. For Teri Polesky (235km/Foot/Canada), Dave Colley (235km/Foot/Canada), Alex de Sain (235km/Foot/Netherlands) and Vincent Turgeon (235km/Foot/Canada) – all with experience in the Yukon Arctic Ultra – had to scratch in Evelyn Creek.
Copyright: Callum Jolliffe
In the meantime, I crews at Quiet Lake and Lapie Lake were digging their way through tons of snow and getting reading for the first athletes. In the lead we have seen a tight race between Guillaume Grima (645km/Foot/France) and Paul Clement (645km/Foot/France). Maxime Bachelot (645km/Foot/France), currently taking 3rd place also looks very strong.
In the 345km distance, German Alexander Hoerniss has done really well and is hoping to finish 1st. He was held at Ross River longer than he wanted due to a very wet sleeping bag but still has got quite a big distance between himself and the next 345km athlete which is Michaela Senft from Switzerland.
But I am getting ahead of myself. On the way to Ross River and beyond, more snowfall caused some frustration. It’s not just that it made the trails tough. It was also very wet. At one point there was even some light rainfall … And when it’s wet – even tough it’s warm – it can be challenging not to get cold. So, it requires a lot of layer management on the trail and kit management at checkpoints.
Copyright: Callum Jolliffe
So far, all remaining athletes have stayed in the race. The only exception is Ashutosh Prakash (645km/Foot) from India who twisted an ankle last night and had to be brought to our Lapie Lake checkpoint. Up until then Ashutosh had done well. Maybe a bit on the slow side but his focus was safety – as it should be – and it was great to see him getting more and more comfortable with the conditions. With the gained experience from this year, maybe he will give it another go in the future.
Copyright: Callum Jolliffe
In general, all athletes now are finding their rhythm. I have seen Jan Rohrberg (645km/Foot/Germany) and Yasmin Stoderegger (645km/Foot/Austria) in Ross River. Magdalena Paschke (645km/Foot/Germany) also is here now, currently sleeping. All are doing a great job. I also salute our only remaining fatbiker, Thomas Miller, from Edmonton/Canada. He takes it as it is, pushing his bike when there is no other way and enjoying the downhills as they come up.
A good number of 345km athletes are on their way to Ross River. Daniel Benhammou (Foot/USA), Gerald Zechner (Foot/Switzerland), Victor Hugo Barros do Carmo (Foot/Switzerland), Gary Marvin (Foot/England), Alexander Davydov (Foot/Germany), Matt Smith (Foot/Canada) and Hervé Acosta (Foot/Switzerland) are all going strong.
